The present invention relates to a shoe and, more particularly, to a tightening shoe.
Footwear generally comprises a sole and an upper attached to the sole which surrounds the foot. Typically, the upper is removably and adjustably secured to the foot with lacing, which generally crisscrosses back and forth between eyelets formed in the lateral and medial sides of the upper. As the lace ends are pulled, the shoe is tightened as the eyelets and hence the medial and lateral sides of the upper are pulled together. The laces are then tied together with a knot commonly referred to as a “bow”. Unfortunately, tying a bow is time consuming, and difficult for small children and persons having difficulties with their fine motor capabilities.
Shoes which incorporate a mechanized tightening system in order to eliminate the need to tie a bow are known in the prior art. However, none of the mechanized tightening systems heretofore devised has been entirely successful or satisfactory. Major shortcomings of the tightening systems of the prior art are that they fail to tighten the shoe from both sides so that it conforms snugly to the wearer's foot, and that they lack any provision for quickly loosening the shoe when it is desired to remove the shoe from the wearer's foot. Aspects of prior art tightening systems contributing to their lack of success and satisfaction have been (1) complexity, in that they involve numerous parts; (2) the inclusion of expensive parts, such as small electric motors; (3) the use of parts needing periodic replacement, e.g. a battery; and (4) the presence of parts requiring frequent maintenance. These aspects, as well as others not specifically mentioned, indicate that considerable improvement has been needed in order to attain a tightening shoe that is completely successful and satisfactory.
Recently, several tightening mechanisms have been developed which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,032,387; 6,467,194 and 6,896,128 naming Johnson as the inventor which are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein. Each of these patents describe shoes which include tightening mechanisms which draw the lace ends into a chamber formed in the shoes sole in order to tighten the laces of the shoe. The constructions are extremely satisfactory, and a significant advance over prior tightening shoes. Unfortunately, the tightening and loosening mechanisms are still relatively complicated, requiring a large number of parts. Furthermore, the various tightening mechanisms required significant space within the shoe's sole.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a tightening shoe that tightened around a person's foot quickly and easily without requiring that a person tie a knot in the shoe laces.
It would also be desirable to provide a tightening shoe that incorporated a tightening mechanism which was lighter and required less parts than prior tightening mechanisms.
Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide a shoe that incorporated a tightening mechanism that required less space and was less expensive to manufacture than prior tightening mechanisms.